Runners brave blizzard conditions at the Syracuse Half-Marathon

Winter had the months between November and March to show up and for many runners living in Canada and the United States, it didn’t. We had a mild one, that’s for sure. When it comes to winter 2016, many Canadians simply can’t complain. Until this week when a quick drop in temperatures brought on April snowstorms.

For many, April has rolled in with a bit of a rude start. Runners in Ontario for example, were faced with plummeting temperatures and snow for Around the Bay— Canada’s oldest race which is supposed to be a marker of the spring season. However runners in Syracuse had it much, much worse.

The Syracuse Half-Marathon ran on April 3. Those who raced it ran in whiteout conditions, slush, freezing temperatures and tons of snow. (See conditions for yourself. The above video is a shot of what the race looked like after mile 10.)

Spectators saw more than their far share of frozen beards and snow queen eyelashes as runners competed in unseasonably winter weather.

Who had a better snow beard from Sunday’s Syracuse Half Marathon in a blizzard Peter Gratien or Dan Serrani? Congrats to all the finishers #runthecuse #syracusehalf2016 #syracusehalf #snowbeard #blizzardhalfmarathon

A photo posted by Syracuse Half Marathon (@syracuse_half_marathon) on Apr 5, 2016 at 4:26am PDT

Over 3,700 runners came out to the race to kick off the “spring” race season. While times may not have been spot on runners’ goal times, running through this frigid weather in April is definitely an accomplishment. Runners who finished were well deserving of their finisher’s medals – and a warm cup of hot chocolate.

Or, as one social media user watching the race said “For those that thought they sucked. You most certainly did NOT. You PR’d this bad boy considering the conditions.”

This week in frozen faces: Canadian runners freeze their beards